Take the Money and Run

Quarterly fundraising reports for federal races were due Tuesday, so the next round of fundraising/fund-racing stories is coming out. Of particular interest, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) continues to raise big bucks from the usual corporate interests, and Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) hits up the members of his family who haven't been indicted for campaign cash.

Stevens, who faces a re-election challenge from Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich while under a cloud of suspicion for his relationship with the corrupt oil services company, VECO, can still count on his special interest friends for money when the going gets tough:

The details of Begich's and Stevens' campaign contribution and spending reports were released Tuesday and combine thousands of pages. They'll be closely analyzed over the coming days but an immediate scan through Stevens' report shows Alaska donors as well as money from Citigroup, the American Cable Association, the United States Telecom Association, Southwest Air, Clear Channel Communications and lobbying firms.

Throughout this election cycle Stevens has drawn down hundreds of thousands from lobbyists, the oil industry, telecoms, and various defense contractors to help him fight of Begich. Good thing he's got that shiny renovated home (done and below-market rate courtesy of VECO Corp.) to host his fundraisers!

Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA), facing his second re-election battle and a trial on corruption charges is also raising money at home -- literally. Money from his wife and daughters account for a third of the cash he's raised this quarter. I guess they've got money to give:

A 16-count federal criminal indictment filed in June 2007 accuses Jefferson of seeking bribes for businesses run by family members, including his wife and children. He has denied wrongdoing and faces a Dec. 2 trial in northern Virginia.